For most people Assassin's Creed is going to be either one of the most enjoyable games of the year, or a bit of a disappointment. For every triumph Assassin's earns, it drops the ball slightly via less-than-stellar execution - but there is plenty to like about it.
The platforming, to get it out of the way first, is arguably the game's biggest strength. Your journey through the Crusade-era holy land, assassinating the nine targets said to be the source of war in the era, winds you up in plenty of pursuits, and hopping from rooftop to rooftop not only looks fantastic thanks to some truly outstanding animation work, but it's a joy to play as well.
Altair, the game's hooded protagonist, hops between platforms, onto individual posts and swing from ledges with astonishing finesse, while transitions between animations are so smooth they are impossible to notice. It's worlds head of the jittery movements of most third-person games.
Even simple tasks like jumping from one platform to another or climbing a wall are done so gracefully it's a joy to see each and every time. You can see every hand and foot placement make a physical connection with specific rails, ledges and other bits of scenery. Not a finger is out of place.
Now, graphics aren't everything, but animations this impressive go a long way to making the frequent roof-top chase scenes all the more enjoyable.
The platforming system itself is about as simple as it could possibly be; holding down the right trigger will have Altair run and hop between gaps, while pressing A (or X on PS3) will engage a wall climb where pushes of the thumbstick will automatically cause him to clamber about walls and ledges.
It might sound overly automatic, but it's incredibly satisfying to pull off and pressing the stick the wrong way will land you on your arse, so there is some degree of judgement - if not skill - involved.
Soon you'll be absorbed in the same way that Crackdown had you surveying the local pub for the most efficient way to climb to the roof.
Fighting is the same; simple but incredibly stylish. The left trigger is used to lock on to your targets while swings of your sword are executed solely with the X button. Hold it down longer and you'll perform heavy attacks, and later on things get deeper with timed counter-attacks and dodges. It's easy to learn but is, again thanks to some fantastically bone-crunching animations, wonderfully satisfying.
With these solid foundations in place the medieval streets of Jerusalem and co are your playground. What lets the more-than-solid game systems down is Assassin's linear and repetitive structure.
Every single assassination in the game goes down the same way; you'll visit the city's assassin's bureau to get the low-down on your target. Then clamber atop various high spots to open intelligence targets on your map. Then fight, eaves-drop and pickpocket your way to knowledge. Then run back to the Bureau to get permission for the hit. We played through the entire game waiting for this structure to change, but it didn't.
At first we had no problem with it. It gave us an excuse to clamber atop the gorgeous city skyline, immerse ourselves in the surprisingly well-written narrative behind each target and - if we were in the mood - do a stealthy job of it like we should.
By the end of the game, however, it was all business as usual; 20-man sword fights and just getting the intel search out of the way so we could have a five-minute chase on the rooftops. With so much work having gone into the stealth systems, this is a shame.
When you're scaling massive buildings to synchronise your map of the city - which is required as the preliminary intel scout on your assassination target - the game's a blast to play.
This is equally thanks to the three genuinely stunning cities, which are among the most impressive you'll see in a game this year. Perching atop church spires to unlock new areas of your map is almost a reward in itself.
But when you're creeping about the city streets, eaves-dropping tramps and blending in with the crowd, you'll wish you were still hopping on building tops and pulling off stupid manoeuvres.
This is where most of Assassin's gameplay takes place, but blending in with monks (again, a simple job of holding A) and pushing through a crowd (this time holding B) is rarely useful, because you'll quickly work out that you can get to your destination quicker (and more enjoyably) by simply legging it across the rooftops.
In this way, Assassin's Creed feels very much like a game from the minds behind Splinter Cell. Just like Sam Fisher's stealth-em-up, if you play it the way Ubisoft wants you to play it you'll have a fantastic time.
Stray away from the patient gamer mindset (being stealthy and legging it from danger) and you'll often find yourself frustrated and knifing down civilians in a very un-stealthy manner.
When the guards are alerted to your presence (an indicator on your HUD lets you know if they're looking for, or can see you) you can immediately clear your alert status by reaching one of four 'quick fix' points such as a haystack, roof garden or bench. These are never hard to reach, so getting spotted by the guards (unless you're on a 'stay unseen' informer mission) is rarely a worry.
Constantly elaborate set-pieces are laid out in front of you; your target held up in a heavily guarded boat or inside a crowded church. But instead of clambering atop the church spire and striking stealthily from the beams, like Ubisoft wants you to, it's far easier to just run in and stab the bloke in the throat, then leg it.
Even if you do pull off the perfect stealth kill the entire town militia is always on your tail, so stealth doesn't really reward you with an easy exit.
Because of this, the stealth crowd-blending elements are wasted somewhat for the first two thirds of the game. It's not until the later half when the guards pull their fingers out and actually start directing suspicion at the hooded bloke with the sword on his back. But it's not as if slashing everyone down in a head-on fight isn't fun, it's just Ubisoft has decided to focus on the stealth element that for the most part isn't needed.
It's a shame because there are plenty of interesting game mechanics that work down on the street; rescue a helpless victim from a group of bullies and they'll help you out when being pursued by guards.
Likewise if you do anything suspicious like climbing up the side of a market stall or building, civilians will alert guards to your presence and you'll quickly be met with a stone in the face.
There's plenty to like about Assassin's Creed in its awesome platforming system, awe-inspiring cities and satisfying combat.
Unfortunately it's predictable and overly linear structure prevents it from being a must-have blockbuster. Some of the game's most inventive systems - stealth and crowd-blending elements in particular - which work a treat on paper, end up being unfortunately unnecessary.
Free-running across the rooftops of Jerusalem with 20 guards on your tail is a real standout moment in games this year, and that's why even though it's not quite the supreme blockbuster we hoped for, defining moments like these make Assassin's Creed well worth your Christmas dosh.
Questionable stealth elements and repetition prevent Assassin's from achieving greatness, but the free-running system and beautiful playgrounds mean Creed is still worth your attention.
Played this for about 4 hours and loving it. At first you will be blown away by the concept, the mission structure and the graphics. Sadly after a few hours the mission structure gets repetitive and basically consists of investigation work, assassination, view points, save citizens and collect flags. I'd give it an 8/10.
Quite a few typos in this one eh? Now to read it...
EDIT: Ok, so what about difficulty? If missions of assassinations require hardly any stealth and the best way to avoid guards is to jump in a bush where is it? It's surely not involved in the "platforming," which consists of holding a button and pointing the stick?! (Have I read that wrong?)
Looks alright, I think I'll get it when it comes down a bit. Main stab is that I looked at this game and saw so much potential and apparently it's not been anywhere near unleashed. Hmmmmmmmmm. Anybody played it themselves?
Seems a fair score, this game was always going to divide opinion. Once again it is all about managing your own expectations. The game plays out pretty much as i had expected it would. As the review states if you play the game like ubisoft want you to you will have lots of fun. The point is most people will not do that as they do not have the patience needed for a game like this. I am still going to get it as its turned out pretty much as i expected. Those expecting a medieval gta were sooo far off the mark it's untrue. Its going to be a nice change of pace and i will just enjoy riding round admiring the world.
The games pretty easy once you get to grips with how the combat works. Much like games like MGS, they try to put the focus on the stealth element but in truth you can simply run through doing everything the action route. I started doing the stealth route but after getting to grips with the combat, I found myself taking out 20+ enemies at once without getting killed. As for platforming, its pretty solid in that aspect. You can pretty much scale anything you see in the game world. You also won;t end up running off edges or falling as your character will auto grip. Jumping is a dodgy element. Its sort of got an auto jump feature which works rather well but feels like you aren;t quite in control. For game length, if you play the game how Ubispft intended then you've got about 20 hours worth of gameplay. If you do what most people do these days, rush through the game to brag, then you've got about 9 hours. Thankfully I didn't fall into the hype of this game and simply viewed it as a stop gap until they made the next Prince of Perisa. Due to that I have been rather impressed and have avoided the let down many will feel when they get their hands on this game I'd give it an 8/10. A great game which is let down by the repetitive structure of the missions and feels like its full potential was never relaized.
My favourite is them describing you doing something in an 'unstealthy manor'. Since when have manors been about stealth?
It still looks amazing to me, and I'll still be buying it when it hits PCs next year.
hey, the Batcave is a stealthy manor
in any event, i'm still going to get the game, but i'm not sure i'll be a first-purchaser, especially since my funds are so limited and Assassins Creed has some stiff competition in Uncharted (excellent demo) and Mass Effect.
Another example of a much hyped game amounting to great graphics, great animation, did I mention the graphics... oh and there's the graphics and animation, the graphics are some of the best we've seen this year, the animation is brilliant, not a single finger out of place.. the graphics are great and so's the animation... the game play is so so with a few moments of brilliance.. oh and some good graphics and animation... It's a shame that gameplay ideas have taken a back seat while expensive graphics and animation is finessed. The gameplay mechanic sounds dull, lucky there's great graphics and animation though! I bet Jade Whatsherface producer isnt so pretty now she's been crying at night cos the gameplay sucks... Mario is still king of the platforms! (sorry last minute fanboyism)...
Mario is still king of the platforms! (sorry last minute fanboyism)...
You can hardly compare Mario to a game like this... Mario is more comparable to the likes of Banjo or Crash Bandicoot. This is more comparable to Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider.
What's so good about Mario's gameplay? Jump on the platforms, avoid the tedious obstacles, jump on cutesy bouncing enemies....yes, that really stands up in 2007.
Oh, and let's not forget the endless collecting of random coins/stars. What a motivator.
"transitions between animations are so smooth their impossible to notice"
wow, what a wonderful example of good English. this isn't the only mistake in there, either. Jesus, writing is these guys' jobs, you'd think they'd be above making the grammar errors of a 12-year-old
im gutted,...i was sooo loking 4ward to this game, how the f**k did they let this happen to this game??, ive read reviews on about 8 sites now & they all say the same (pretty much) it looks amazing yer we got that, but how did they get the game play sooo wrong? ok its not a total f**k up the game sounds fun but you'd thought someone would of play tested this & thought "you know it does get very repetative" if u take the visuals out of this game would it be entertaining??, it just f**ks me off when u play a game & something that is sooo obvious to the gamer isnt picked up by the developer!?.. i really want 2 buy this game but with COD4 taking my time & mass effect in a few weeks do i need this? (even though i want it, even knowing what i know!!) come on CV&G help me out!???
Another example of a much hyped game amounting to great graphics, great animation, did I mention the graphics... oh and there's the graphics and animation, the graphics are some of the best we've seen this year, the animation is brilliant, not a single finger out of place.. the graphics are great and so's the animation... the game play is so so with a few moments of brilliance.. oh and some good graphics and animation... It's a shame that gameplay ideas have taken a back seat while expensive graphics and animation is finessed. The gameplay mechanic sounds dull, lucky there's great graphics and animation though! I bet Jade Whatsherface producer isnt so pretty now she's been crying at night cos the gameplay sucks... Mario is still king of the platforms! (sorry last minute fanboyism)...
Hmmmm.... Shame, initially i was sceptical about this game but after i'd read a few 'hands on' first impressions of the game it got my hopes up as they seemed to be saying that the control and combat system had been sorted for the final code and i thought these were the major issues with the game. Are the actual assassinations repetitive or is it just the gathering of information beforehand? Anyway i suppose the reviews for this game have turned it into a rental rather than a purchase for me, still sounds good just not essential
What's so good about Mario's gameplay? Jump on the platforms, avoid the tedious obstacles, jump on cutesy bouncing enemies....yes, that really stands up in 2007.
Given the stunning reviews that Galaxy has received, across the board, this is undoubtedly the funniest and most blinkered comment I have ever read on this site! Well done Mogs.
MAN my 360 got the RROD today. What a time to break down on me a few days before assasins creed and about a week away from mass effect. Well maybe 4th time lucky.
What's so good about Mario's gameplay? Jump on the platforms, avoid the tedious obstacles, jump on cutesy bouncing enemies....yes, that really stands up in 2007.
Given the stunning reviews that Galaxy has received, across the board, this is undoubtedly the funniest and most blinkered comment I have ever read on this site! Well done Mogs.
What's so good about Mario's gameplay? Jump on the platforms, avoid the tedious obstacles, jump on cutesy bouncing enemies....yes, that really stands up in 2007.
Given the stunning reviews that Galaxy has received, across the board, this is undoubtedly the funniest and most blinkered comment I have ever read on this site! Well done Mogs.
Ta.
A man with convictions, I can respect that - even if I don't agree with you.
"if you play the game in the manor that Ubisoft wants you to play it you'll have a fantastic time." Uhh.. You can only play this in a manor? And which manor is that? I would've really preferred to play this in the comfort of my apartment. Who's writing these things - 12 year olds?
What's so good about Mario's gameplay? Jump on the platforms, avoid the tedious obstacles, jump on cutesy bouncing enemies....yes, that really stands up in 2007.
Oh, and let's not forget the endless collecting of random coins/stars. What a motivator.
Mmm, quite funny when you think about it isn't it. Mario Galaxy has got better reviews than this. Mmm...
This looks very good, but every review i've read says that Mario Galaxy is AMAZING! You, Mogs, need to grow up a bit.
Another example of a much hyped game amounting to great graphics, great animation, did I mention the graphics... oh and there's the graphics and animation, the graphics are some of the best we've seen this year, the animation is brilliant, not a single finger out of place.. the graphics are great and so's the animation... the game play is so so with a few moments of brilliance.. oh and some good graphics and animation... It's a shame that gameplay ideas have taken a back seat while expensive graphics and animation is finessed. The gameplay mechanic sounds dull, lucky there's great graphics and animation though! I bet Jade Whatsherface producer isnt so pretty now she's been crying at night cos the gameplay sucks... Mario is still king of the platforms! (sorry last minute fanboyism)...
arent you a clever little boy.....tw@:t.
You're comment isn't exactly that good either is it.
"if you play the game in the manor that Ubisoft wants you to play it you'll have a fantastic time." Uhh.. You can only play this in a manor? And which manor is that? I would've really preferred to play this in the comfort of my apartment. Who's writing these things - 12 year olds?
LOL I didn't know we were spell checking on a forum. In that case you better learn how to quote people properly, otherwise you'll look like a 12yr old.
What's so good about Mario's gameplay? Jump on the platforms, avoid the tedious obstacles, jump on cutesy bouncing enemies....yes, that really stands up in 2007.
Oh, and let's not forget the endless collecting of random coins/stars. What a motivator.
Mmm, quite funny when you think about it isn't it. Mario Galaxy has got better reviews than this. Mmm...
This looks very good, but every review i've read says that Mario Galaxy is AMAZING! You, Mogs, need to grow up a bit.
However great Mario's game play is, it's not for everyone, and it is also completely irrelevant to this particular topic. Really, the two games are totally different and cater to different audiences, so how can you possibly compare them?
Back onto topic. I fully intend to head up to my local HMV after work on Friday and get myself a copy of this. I don't care about its flaws. This game offers up something different and fresh, and I plan to enjoy it the way the game was meant to be played.
Good review, however the countryside wasn't mentioned which could easily bring it down to 8.0 because it has no missions is bland and it therefore serves no part but only to f**cking annoy you and make the game look bigger.
And the story should bring it down to 7.0, see those modern styles on the tips that pop up in the videos? The graphical glitches (On purpose, im not saying the games glitched), load up the game and you'll see.
Looks like a pretty good game. I'll wait until i can get it on Ebay for £25 or less. I want to see and hear a nice splat when you do a "Leap of Faith" and miss the hay stack.
the whole living out a past memory from a guy in the future is a strange twist, but i'm sure it just makes the plot more intriguing. whenever i climb a wall, all the locals start saying i should grow-up and that i've gone mad. maybe i have?
hello everyone. i recently found out from a friend of mine about this advertising company, transcendent innovations, that has a series of websites that have been proven to give away free gifts. some of their websites include sites for ipods, ps3s, xboxes. this site, however, is one they just opened up, and they're giving xbox 360 elites. i was very skeptical at first, until my friend actually got one (did some research online and found out they get a lot of press for being one of the only legit websites). the way it works is this: where most sites like this require you to sign up for a bunch of stupid offers, this only requires you to sign up for one. the catch here is that you earn the 360 by referring people. by clicking on this link:
i am referring you to that website. if you sign up and complete one offer (i recomend the stamps.com offer, because its pretty simple and free) you will be listed as someone i have referenced. for the 360 elite, you only need 9 refrences. i already got 3! if you want the 360 plus 2 free games, it'll require a few more references (im in a rush, trying to get it before christmas.) i recommend you do what i did and research this company: transcendent innovations inc. they're well known to be legit. the reason they're able to give away so much free stuff ($3,200,000 so far) is because they make serious bank in advertisement deals for the offers we complete. also, the way i looked at it was this- best case scenario: free xbox360 elite (no 3 red lights!) worst case: you end up with $5 worth of free stamps.
hello everyone. i recently found out from a friend of mine about this advertising company, transcendent innovations, that has a series of websites that have been proven to give away free gifts. some of their websites include sites for ipods, ps3s, xboxes. this site, however, is one they just opened up, and they're giving xbox 360 elites. i was very skeptical at first, until my friend actually got one (did some research online and found out they get a lot of press for being one of the only legit websites). the way it works is this: where most sites like this require you to sign up for a bunch of stupid offers, this only requires you to sign up for one. the catch here is that you earn the 360 by referring people. by clicking on this link:
i am referring you to that website. if you sign up and complete one offer (i recomend the stamps.com offer, because its pretty simple and free) you will be listed as someone i have referenced. for the 360 elite, you only need 9 refrences. i already got 3! if you want the 360 plus 2 free games, it'll require a few more references (im in a rush, trying to get it before christmas.) i recommend you do what i did and research this company: transcendent innovations inc. they're well known to be legit. the reason they're able to give away so much free stuff ($3,200,000 so far) is because they make serious bank in advertisement deals for the offers we complete. also, the way i looked at it was this- best case scenario: free xbox360 elite (no 3 red lights!) worst case: you end up with $5 worth of free stamps.
MAN my 360 got the RROD today. What a time to break down on me a few days before assasins creed and about a week away from mass effect. Well maybe 4th time lucky.
Ive got this game but theres one problem. I dont know weither ive finished it. If you have finished the game or at the point that it shows the credits and then goes back to the game. Could you please tell me weither I have finished or not. Becouse its really confusing.
What's so good about Mario's gameplay? Jump on the platforms, avoid the tedious obstacles, jump on cutesy bouncing enemies....yes, that really stands up in 2007.
Oh, and let's not forget the endless collecting of random coins/stars. What a motivator.
Well I love Mario. And by amount of responses and quotes of this message you are most probably wrong. But I respect you for saying what yo think and not going along with the crowd.
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For most people Assassin's Creed is going to be either one of the most enjoyable games of the year, or a bit of a disappointment. For every triumph Assassin's earns, it drops the ball slightly via less-than-stellar execution - but there is plenty to like about it.
Awesome platforming
